When Stars Collide
by Nesi
Summary: Ronald Sandoval's daily run with Lili Marquette is anything but routine today. Will Sandoval's humanity return in an instant, as quickly as it had been taken away? Will sympathies for the resistance come to call on him? (Sandy/Lili, Sandy-Liam father-son
1. Stars in the night... (Chapter 1)

Disclaimer: The characters of Gene Rodenberry's Earth: Final Conflict do not belong to me (my loss of course). No copyright infringements are intended.   
  
Summary: Ronald Sandoval's daily run with Lili Marquette is anything but routine today. Will Sandoval's humanity return in an instant, as quickly as it had been taken away? Will sympathies for the resistance come to call on him?  
  
Author's note: Ok, well here we go. I'm a big fan of the Sandoval character, but I desperately want him not to be evil. Also a big fan of Lili, who appears in this fic as well... set before her departure (a departure which will never happen in this particular AU). Season two-ish. Ideally, this will be the first of a few chapters.  
  
  
  
*** When Stars Collide ***  
  
  
(Sandoval's POV):  
Ronald Sandoval glanced across the cafe out the doors to the table where she was sitting. He sighed to himself and wondered if anywhere in time she would ever glance at him the way he could only do from a distance, where she sat reading the paper and drinking coffee. He wondered what she would do if he were to speak to her... not as a superior to his crew, but as a friend. He nearly wanted to cry, because as he very well knew, he was not her friend. She would never accept him as a friend. Not even if he moved heaven and Earth for her... or more. not even then.  
He turned back to the counter and grabbed his coffee, turned around and headed out to the sun deck where Lili was waiting for him. //She isn't waiting for you by choice//, he mentally noted... he gazed out of the open cafe again towards her, and noticed she was staring back. Their eyes connected for a split second, and an electric feeling went through his body. He quickly broke the gaze and stared into his coffee, as he walked back to their table.  
  
(Lili's POV):  
Lili Marquette stirred her coffee and stared off over the wooden rail of the sundeck of the cafe. She looked from her paper, to the coffee, and then into the open cafe. Sandoval was getting his usual. She noticed him start to look in her direction, and quickly turned back to reading the paper. She wondered if he knew how obvious it was when he stared... the same thing for awhile now. When she would sit and wait for him on the sundeck, to come and brief her -- order her rather -- on what she would be doing for the day. Possibly the next week. Her face twisted slightly in annoyance, but relaxed shortly after.  
She wished she could connect with the protector on some level. Find some common interest. Bring him back into the realm of Humanity. He had lost his humanity so long ago. Along with it his wife, his life -- his freedom. She felt sympathy for him.   
She looked up once more and saw him looking towards her. Their eyes connected for a split second, and an electric feeling shot through her mind. She noticed how quicly he broke the gaze, and started to walk back, eyes towards the ground. She wondered why he looked at her like he did. She wished he would talk to her. Tell her what he was really thinking. It was more than he let on in her presence, but not subtle at all when he was at a distance. //Maybe there is some humanity left in the man afterall,// she thought, as he approached.  
  
(Everyone's point of view):  
"Look out!" someone yelped. Lili's attention snapped upward to see Sandoval on the ground, covered in coffee. She supressed a smile -- in his effort to keep his eyes downward, he ran right into a passwerby. She jumped up and walked quickly to his side to offer a hand.  
  
"Sandoval, are you alright?" she asked, with genuine concern though she knew all that was bruised would be his ego. She offered a hand.  
  
Sandoval waived her hand away sharply and got up, trying to bring back some of his dignity. "I'm fine," he said in a cold tone. He took a napkin she offered him and tried to clean off some of the coffee, but it was useless. He looked up from his efforts to see a hurt look on Lili's face, and he realized he had done it again. For the umpteenth-million time. Why did he have to act that way.  
  
Lili sighed gently and turned around to retreat to her table. She would sit silently once again while Sandoval read her the day's events. But to her surprised, a hand came to rest gently on her shoulder.  
  
"Lili," he said softly. Lili stopped in her tracks... What was that? It didn't even sound like his voice. It was... compationate. There was something in his tone that she had never heard before... it almost sounded like regret. And was that her first name he used? But why? Sandoval had rarely, if ever, seen fit to call her by her first name. She was positive he must have seen it as unprofessional... posibily even a weak thing to do.   
  
Sandoval's hand squeezed lightly on her shoulder, and she turned to face him.  
  
"I'm sorry," he continued, "I'm fine, thank you for coming to check." He didn't change his usual look on his face, it remained so very still, so much like it usually did. But the look in his eyes was something she had never seen before. Not with him. It almost melted her to see that something was left in him that was Human. She wanted to cry. All she did do was nodd, and return to the table, trailed by Sandoval after having reconciled as best he could with the passerby whom he had crashed into.   
  
He sighed as he tried to sop more of the coffee out of his jacket. While he did, Lili was trying to supress a burst of laughter. Companion Protector Ronald Sandoval reduced to trying to clean the massive amount of coffee out of his jacket with a napkin -- which must have been like trying to sop up a lake with a sponge. A low giggle escaped her mouth, but she quickly went stone-faced when she was that Sandoval had heard, and was now staring.  
  
His glare was like ice for a moment. His "We are not amused" look as she reconigzed it as... she could be in trouble for this one. She quickly looked down at her cup, but for some reason the situation only got funnier. What was so funny? There was nothing funny here, the situation was over with. But it just got blown out of proportion in her mind... and she broke down -- she put her head on her arms as she tried to hide her face, contorted in laughter, tears coming from her eyes. //Why won't it stop, it was not *that* funny!//  
  
But suddenly she wasn't alone. The previous silence of the sundeck, now being broken by Marquette's laughter, was joined by another laugh -- //Now who else things this is funny,// she thought smiling into her arms, //Its only going to get *me* in more trouble later.// But as she drew her eyes up carefully, she noticed Sandoval's mouth drawn up into a broad smile. He shook his head smiling and shrugged his shoulders. Lili almost fell out of her chair.   
  
Realizing that she was staring at him like an idiot, she dropped her eyes for another time to the table.   
  
//She is such a brave person,// thought Sandoval to himself, //but I'm positive she is afraid of me.// He sighed less than audibly, //Is this what I have reduced my life to?// -- He always thought that people fearing him was the best thing. It was perfect. But now, looking at Lili's downcast eyes, knowing how rediculously out of character he was acting, almost as if in an insanity moment, he knew that she was probably wondering what was going to happen. Was she going to get lectured, yelled at, sent on some gruling assignment...   
  
This wasn't how he wanted it to be. And something snapped in the back of his mind, like a damn breaking, as he watched Marquette stir her coffee in silence once more. He reached out with his hand carefully and put it ontop of her free han, next to her mug.  
  
Lili looked up slowly to meet his eyes. They were compationate, as she saw before. Warm. They were Human.   
  
"Thank you," Sandoval said, his voice very low, and a slight smile on his face. Just then his global went off. He jumped slightly at the break in the moment, and reached for it, turning around for a moment. He turned back a few minutes later with an almost sad look in his eyes, but a serious one. "We've got to head back to the mothership." He sighed audibly this time, in exasperation, "Zo'or wishes to see us." Lili couldn't help but smile at his exasperation -- she wondered if he was finally beginning to tire of being ordered around by Zo'or.  
  
  
--- Later On ---  
  
Ron walked through the park slowly. The sun was on the horizon about to set, and the light fell upon everything like the way he remembered in. He remembered everything so clearly -- not because of his CVI. No, the CVI could record everything with crystal clarity... everything except the moment. The moment was beyond recording... that point where you look around, and you know you've been here before, and felt this way before. when the hairs stand up on the back of your neck as your thoughts dwell on one thing or another.   
  
He remembered bringing DeeDee here. He sighed as he stopped to look around him for a moment. Everything was different now. DeeDee was gone. But similar feelings remained -- not for DeeDee. No, he had come to terms with that. To a point, at least.   
  
"Nice place you got here," came a voice from behind him. Ron whirled around, ready to bring his skrill up, when he realized who it was.  
  
"Captain Marquette," he said in a sigh of relief. He lowered his half-raised arm. "You startled me."  
  
She wondered if everything from before had disappeared, just as the sun was doing now, and just as quickly as it would disappear from the horizon. She noticed it was back to Captain Marquette... she had an odd feeling in the back of her mind that told her she was disappointed about this. But the look in Sandoval's eyes hadn't left from before... although it disapated and was practically beaten down during one of those awful meetings with Zo'or, she wondered if his humanity was finally winning once again; Not to be beaten down by anyway. Especially Zo'or.  
  
She waved a hand around, and returned her glance to him, "You come here often?"  
  
He smiled slightly, causing Lili to draw in a light breath. His face was beautiful, she had never noticed it before. With a smile crossing his lips and the warm glow of the sunset settling on him, she wanted to reach out and grasp his hand; she knew he felt confused about something -- about everything. She wanted to help somehow.  
  
"I don't know why I'm here," he said very softly, turning slightly away from her to stare into the distance. "I just don't know."  
  
Lili approached him and stood by his side a small distance away, taking in the surroundings for a moment. She didn't notice Sandoval's movement to close the space between them a bit, to stand side by side to her right. "I used to take DeeDee here," he said in a surprisingly strong but soft voice. She knew that thoughts of DeeDee pained him terribly, no matter how he tried to hide it. He continued, "But I don't know why I'm here again."  
  
Lili nodded almost knowingly, and smiled. She stepped around to face him, "We often come back to the places which we have the most comfort in." She motioned her hand to indicate the surroundings, "You may not come here often, but you know this place. Its unchanging." She sighed, "In this world where everything is changing so fast; in our lives when everything is revolving so quickly." His eyes came to meet hers, as she finished, "But here, you know it remains the same."  
  
His eyes were so sad, so empty. He looked drained. "I don't know this place anymore," he stated sadly, "Anything I knew, I don't know any longer. Its all been..." he paused for a moment, "clouded. I can't see straight any more." He gazed at her, as the look in her eyes struck him: She was so attentive. So caring. She cared what happened to him for some reason, even when no one else did. She was there, and he ignored her. She was always reaching out, but he always pushed her away.  
  
Sandoval's hand almost instinctively wrapped around Lili's back. He had never been so scared as he was now, that she would pull away. But when she didn't, and as she kept her eyes trained on his own, he put his other hand behind her head, and gently pulled her forward, brushing her lips with his.  
  
The kiss was so soft, Lili had to think if it even happened at all. But Ron's arms around her told her that it did happen. Several moments passed, where their eyes remained trained on each other. In a sudden moment of awkward clarity, a slight embarassment took him over. What was he doing? His hands started to drop, but he was stopped. By Lili's hands. Replacing his hands where they were just moments ago, she slid her own arms up on his shoulders around his neck, and kissed him gently as he had done. Their embrace slowly became more solid. Not sure what was next, Ron could only smile in the purest moment of happiness he had experiences in a long time. She was so beautiful. How could he have ignored this for so long.  
  
  
(more to come... )  



	2. Confusions and criticism... (Chapter 2)

Disclaimer: None of them are mine... *sighs* oh what a world.  
  
Summary: second verse, same as the first (see chapter one summary in otherwords ;)  
  
Author's note: Expanding from Chapter One a bit. Nothing much new. Its not exactly supposed to be action packed. I know I am really twisting Sandoval and maybe even Lili here, but oh well ;) Welcome to the world of Fan Fiction!  
  
  
*** When Stars Collide -- Chapter 2 ***  
  
  
(Sandoval's POV:)  
It was dark. Very dark. //How long have we been out here?// he wondered. Just walking through the park, in the middle of the night... He smiled and realized that it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Whatever had existed only an hour or two ago didn't matter anymore. It all just faded into the background of what was the present moment. But he couldn't shake a terrifying feeling from the back of his mind somewhere.  
Ron rubbed Lili's hand, which held onto his arm, as they strolled around the park, talking about inconsequential things. The conversation was surprisingly comfortable; probably because he knew they were both avoiding the issue. Why ruin this by talking about the 'Why' and the 'How' -- but he had to admit to himself, it was extremely confusing, almost troubling, for part of his mind. He had to fight to keep it away, to keep it from sabotaging what he had right here, right now. He gave an gentle but audible sigh.  
  
(Lili's POV:)  
She wasn't sure it could get any darker. No moon, no stars. Where the sun had shone brightly on the horizon was covered with a thick glaze of clouds. Possibly rain coming... but she wasn't thinking about that now. She had taken the arm offered to her by Ron Sandoval, and they walked through the park for what must have been a couple of hours. And yet she couldn't remember any of the surroundings, though she must have passed them by many times now. She spoke with Ron on fleeting things, that kept the conversation moving, but left the moment to just be.   
Thoughts raced through her mind. What was she doing? She couldn't do this. What was *he* doing? He couldn't do this either... So many things to think about. Its a trick, its a trap, its not real.. what about his CVI? about his alternative agendas.... did she want to get wrapped up in this? Was he using her?  
She looked nervously over to look at his eyes. They melted her every time. Eyes she had seen so many times before, but now had such a profound effect on her. Eyes which before were so cold, so unrevealing, so hard and unyeilding, now were soft and open, almost innocent, yet very confused. //He doesn't know anymore than I know,// she thought to herself. Just as confused, if not more. But although there were a few things she couldn't explain, she knew most of her fears were not valid. Something in her mind wanted to ruin this moment... it wasn't meant to be, she could never have this and neither could he. They were on two different roads, as different and seperate as two ships passing in the night. But not now, not here. It was all different. It was all changing.  
  
(Everyone's POV:)  
  
Sandoval froze in his tracks, jerking Lili to a rough hault by accident from their walking pace. Lili thought the worst.. it was all about to come crashing down now. He realized what was happening. None of this was real... she stared for a moment, waiting for him to speak. He searched his memory for a moment.  
  
A slight gasp escaped his lips, and he reached back and grabbed his global. Opening it to check the time, he roughly shut it and shoved it back into place, the word "Zo'or" escaped his mouth.  
  
Lili looked confused, "I don't understand, I didn't hear the global go off."  
  
Sandoval shook his head, starring off into the distance for a moment, and then shaking himself back to reality, "No, the time. I was supposed to meet with Zo'or on the mothership an hour ago." His eyes showed a look of genuine fear -- Fear? Ronald Sandoval? Nothing had shaken this companion protector over the years... he was the one who instilled the terror, not the other way around.  
  
Lili pushed those thoughts out of her mind, and continued, "You forgot?" In all the time she had known him, Ronald Sandoval was not someone to forget anything. Especailly considering the fact that the CVI retained every little detail about everything -- but only accessed upon intention, she reasoned. "Are you sure? Wouldn't he have contacted you?"  
  
Ron shook his head nervously, "Zo'or loves to torment.." he moved off down one of the paths with Lili in tow, "I'm sure he's never going to let me live this down. Ever." //What's happening to me?// He thought to himself as he heard his voice audibly shake with his last words. Even he realized that this was not like him... no. It was like him. A long time ago, when he used to be more than a servant. More than a gopher, and an expendable subordinate. He sighed as they walked quickly for another moment.  
  
He stopped, and turned to Lili, taking both of her hands. "I'm going to have to go deal with this," he stated in an unsure voice. Lili felt his pain... he continued, "Promise me something?" he squeezed her hands.  
  
Lili nodded, "Sure, what is it?"  
  
"Promise me that this wasn't a dream," he looked at her with hopeful eyes.  
  
Lili gave a small smile, "I can do that... but if it were a dream, and you asked this question, would the dream tell you the same thing?"  
  
He smiled back and shook his head, "No it wouldn't. Because if it were a dream, I'm positive I would have woken up before hearing that answer." His smile faded as he continued, "But if it were a dream, this would be the point where it would turn into a real nightmare."  
  
He brushed his hand against her cheek before turning off down another path. Lili stood for a few more moments, unable to move. She wondered what would happen come morning.  
  
--- Taelon Mothership ---  
  
"... and furthermore!" stressed the disgruntled companion. Ronald Sandoval sighed inwardly, holding back his need to run Zo'or out the nearest window. How long had it been... it seemed like days, but it must have only been a matter of hours. The minutes slipped by slowly, each one taking a lifetime to pass, as Zo'or lectured him on his extreme tardiness. He was nothing but an implant, afterall. Here to do Zo'or's bidding, and nothing else. Personal experiences were second to the Taelon needs. Sandoval tried desperately to hide the fact that he was indeed detained by something on a personal level.   
  
Afterall, Sandoval hadn't had a personal life for a long time now. He had no need of one. The Taelons *were* his new life. This was his purpose. He was an implant, and he was to do as he was told. His mind started to wander a bit... how in the world did it come down to this? How could he have let himself be manipulated like this? To be ordered around without a thought, and to be considered so expendable he was sure and as he was constantly reminded. But no... Zo'or most likely would never get rid of him. He had become Zo'or's favorite play-thing for all intents and purposes. Something to toy with on the side, while getting service and loyalty at the same time.  
  
But this was not loyalty. It was never loyalty.   
  
He envied Liam Kincaid at this moment... his relationship with Da'an was a close one, it seemed, and developed so quickly since he became a companion protector. There seemed to be so much mutual respect and understanding... he had forgotten what mutual respect felt like.  
  
"Agent Sandoval, are you paying attention!" came the loud and startling voice of the Taelon standing in front of him. Sandoval's mind came snapping back to reality, and he breathed out another, 'Yes Zo'or' before silence filled the room with the arrival of someone knew.  
  
"Da'an," Zo'or stated with a bit of contempt in his voice, "You are interupting a very important.." he hesitated, ".. meeting I am conducting with Agent Sandoval." He glared out of the corner of his eye at his companion protector, who's head was bent toward the floor.  
  
Da'an did not look amused with Zo'or's behaviour, and interjected, "A meeting, or an interrogation?" His voice was cold towards the younger Taelon. He had heard the loud voice of Zo'or from quite a distance, and new that Sandoval was the one taking the brunt of it as usual. He had sympathetic feelings towards the companion protector for all he endured, despite many things that had happened in the past between them.   
  
Zo'or's face contorted in disgust, but he moved towards the door, "Agent Sandoval, we will continue this in the morning." He exited, leaving Da'an and Sandoval alone.  
  
Sandoval looked up from the floor. It nearly shocked Da'an to see the look in his eyes... one he had not seen before. Much had been drained from the protector. But it was more than that this time. Sandoval sighed a sigh of relief, and moved closer to the remaining Taelon, "Thank you, Da'an. And I really, really mean that."  
  
Da'an nodded and felt Sandoval's words shake slightly. He inquired, "Is anything the matter, Agent Sandoval?" he paused for a moment, hands moving gracefully as always, and then continued, "Besides the obvious, of course."  
  
He shook his head slightly, and some of the color started to return to his face. "I think I'm alright," he stated, "but thank you for asking." Da'an realized that his words seemed less sure than usual.. if there was one thing Sandoval had always been, it was sure of himself. But he nodded in response, and retreated from the area, giving him some moments alone.  
  
Sandoval leaned back against a wall and closed his eyes.  
  
--- Meanwhile, back at the ranch... um, Earth rather ---  
  
Lili strode through the night crowd at the Flat Plante Cafe. She thought peace and quiet was the answer to her restless mind, but it turned out to be being alone with her thoughts was harder than normal. She thought she needed a little noise for awhile..  
  
"And who do we have straggling in here at this hour, hmm?" smiled Augur, as he approached her from the side. He got very close and whispered in her ear, "Little noisey down here tonight... but you and I could always go back to my place, I could put on some soft music, a little champaign.." he grinned ear to hear.  
  
Lili's sarcastic-disgusted look wiped the smile from his face, and he backed up, arms raised in an I Surrender pose, "Ok, well don't say I never offered." Lili laughed to herself, as she moved towards the bar to meet up with Liam.  
  
"Lili, what brings you here tonight," Liam waved to the bartender to bring a drink over.  
  
Lili sat down and smiled, "Oh, not much." Liam fully expected a bit more of an answer than that, but took it for face value. But the look on her face told him to press on a bit. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, you ok?"  
  
Lili nodded, seeming a bit spaced-out. She turned to look around the cafe for a moment, and wondered how she got here. Things were slipping in and out of her memory. Her thoughts were drifting in and out of reality it seemed, and she had a hard time concentrating on the present. All she could do was think back. She smiled to herself upon reflection of earlier in the night..  
  
Liam shook her gently and smiled, "Earth to Lili, can you hear me? What are you smiling about now?" he grinned.  
  
Lili snapped back and turned towards him, "Sorry Liam. Right, I'm here, in tune with reality again. I'm doing alright." She allowed her facial expression to return to normal, convincing Liam that everything was good. Liam nodded, satisfied with that, and handed her the drink he ordered, "Well then, here's to showing up at Augur's cafe in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and 'doing alright' " he said with a smile.  
  
Lili laughed and raised her drink to his, "Well, that's a tall order, but since we both fit the bill," she clinked his glass with hers and nodded slightly. Liam's company was always a welcome thing for her. She loved him dearly, like a close friend, or like a brother. She sighed for a moment, her thoughts drifting away on that note...  
  
Liam wondered what was capturing Lili's thoughts this evening. She was usually so upfront with him about what she was thinking or feeling. He noticed Augur do his usual hit-routine on her as per usual, and usually they would always get at least a few minutes of conversation and laughs at poor Augur's expense. But tonight there was nothing. As she starred into her drink, Liam watched her carefully. It wasn't a bad look she had on her face... more a thoughtful look. He could tell she was pondering something big, he just wished he knew what it was. He was satisfied knowing that she seemed to be alright despite her lack of connection to reality this evening... he settled for having her silent company over Augur's constant egotistical babgling though. He smiled to himself on that note. He knew if Augur ever were to stop being Augur, that he would miss that 'unique' personality of his. Even Lili would probably miss it...  
  
After a long period of sitting in their own bubble of silence within the crowded room, Lili spoke up in an energetic tone, "I don't know what to do."  
  
Confused, Liam could only ask, "You don't know what to do about what?"  
  
Realizing that she had said that out loud, and not just thought it in her head, she shook the fuzz from her mind and concentrated on Liam's face for a moment. She brought her voice down low, "I just had the strangest experience..."  
  
Liam's brow furrowed for a moment, "Strange in a bad way?"  
  
Lili thought about it for a moment. She sifted quickly through all her thoughts, all her emotions. She had felt so many things, weighed so many ideas, so many fears.. but in the end, it all seemed to pan out into one organized answer in her mind. She smiled and shook her head, "No. Definately strange in a good way."  
  
  
(just expanding on chapter one a bit... more to come) 


	3. A time comes in every man's life... (Cha...

Disclaimer: Ugh, we all know who owns them. And it ain't me ;)  
  
Sumary: If you haven't gotten it by now, you should probably take another crack at reading chapters 1 and 2 ;)  
  
Author's note: As you might have noticed from chapters 1 and 2, this is an Alternate Universe for sure... even if just in slight ways. But its taking another small jump... we're going to assume that Liam Kincaid is heading up the Resistance at this time. C'mon, stay with me now... ;)  
  
*** When Stars Collide -- Chapter 3 ***  
  
Sandoval walked through the mothership, deep in his own thoughts. He hadn't met up with Lili today, because he knew that she had to attend some sort of a meeting this morning into this afternoon. As he walked, he could only thing about the events on the mothership last night... and he was not looking forward to another encounter with Zo'or, nor was he mentally ready for it. But then again, he wasn't mentally ready to deal with his own thoughts and feelings either...   
  
He was able to confirm that his CVI was not breaking down as he had feared. Although glad for the newfound freedom of thought, the breakdown of his CVI could of course spell his death, which he definately wasn't ready to face above everything else that had been happening. He knew that many of the CVI implants had now started to become rejected by the human immune system, but he wondered if the control of the CVI rather than the physical unit itself could become rejected -- the human brain was a mysterious thing. Human beings use such a small percentage of it, that the limits at this point in their evolution are totally unknown. What happens when we are able to gain control of more of our minds?   
  
He made a sharp turn and sighed to himself as he moved into the room. His eyes reverted back to their cold stare -- not this time because they had lost so much of their humanity that they once beheld, but because of contempt that he had deep within himself for the being that stood before him... just the presence of Zo'or brought incredibly dark thoughts into his mind.  
  
Not that he hadn't had thoughts against the Taelons before... but, that was a different time, though not so long ago. His thoughts were less against the Taelons than they were for his own personal agenda, seperate from their own. He had trouble even remembering that agenda now, upon reflection. His CVI recorded every single thing he said and did, and yet, he had trouble accessing some memories such as this these. But then again, he didn't feel much like being in that mindset again.  
  
"Agent Sandoval," Zo'or said, in an oddly-amused tone of voice, "I am glad you could make it..." he turned towards Sandoval and smiled slightly, with a sick sense of humour as always, "... On time, I see."  
  
Sandoval sighed inwardly and nodded towards the Taelon. "You wanted to see me?" he inquired.  
  
"Indeed," replied Zo'or, turning away. "You have a new assignment." He smiled to himself. Sandoval noticed an amazing amount of satisfaction in his voice, a sarcastic sense of knowing all, and also the fact that he was not bringing up the events that had transpired the night before.   
  
"And what, may I ask, is this new assignment?" If Sandoval didn't know better, this would be the time he would expect a maniacal laugh to come from the being in front of him. But he did know better of course..  
  
"I have come across some..." he paused, and continued, "interesting information in the last few hours, Agent Sandoval." He turned towards him, his amused look replaced with one of contempt and disgust, "and what we do with this information, is going to involve you."  
  
He knew. Thoughts flashed through his mind. Thoughts of random things, random places... thoughts of DeeDee. Thoughts of Boone, and Boone's family. Their fate at the hands of the Taelons. He couldn't stop the images from surfacing. He had little control over his recal function in his CVI, it now seemed. And then Lili... no, Zo'or must somehow know what transpired the evening before. He knew, someone was there, someone was spying on them. He couldn't let Lili suffer the same fate as so many others. His thoughts were cut short by Zo'or's voice once again.  
  
"It has come to my attention, that we have traitors among us." His voice turned cold, colder than he liked to hear it, a rare stiffness that would have send shivers down his spine even before all this.  
  
"Traitors, Zo'or?" Sandoval inquried, honestly innocent of the situation.  
  
"Traitors, Agent Sandoval," repeated Zo'or in exasperation. "And your new assignment," he smiled again, "is to simply confirm my newfound suspisions. He walked across the room, and waved his hand across the void infront of him, activating a panel. Sandoval always continued to be amazed somewhere in the back of his mind about the Taelon's technology. So advanced, with a certain elegance to it. -- The screen flashed up an image of what looked like a very small mechanical device.  
  
Zo'or indicated the screen, "And this device is what will help you accomplish that." Sandoval watched the screen display some readouts as Zo'or moved behind him and retrieved a global, and a physical copy of the device outputed on the screen. He held it up, and placed the tiny black circuited piece on the side of the closed global. And then, the device phased out, and was no longer visible.  
  
Sandoval suddenly had an idea of what it was, looking back at the screen to confirm his suspisions, "This is a tracking device."  
  
"Not just any tracking device," he replied, "As different from a simple locator, this device is designed to interface directly with the global technology." He indicated the global in his hand, "It records everything transmitted, accessed and received on the device, and.." he smiled, "Utilizes the global's audio transmittor to transmit a non-stop stream of audio, picking up everything for about a 10 foot radious."  
  
Sandoval sighed and nodded, "You want me to plant this device on the our 'suspected' traitors?" He stressed the word 'suspected', which in retrospect he realized he should not have done. He saw Zo'or's anger, and quickly lowered his head a bit.  
  
"No, Agent Sandoval," he said, "The device has already been planted by one of the volunteers." His face took on an appearance of contentment, "Your job is simple. Oone I am sure you cannot possibly screw up," he put the global down harshly and disapated the view screen. "But, despite what you may think..." he paused, "I trust you, Sandoval. I had my doubts, and still do, but I am sure that you can carry out the simple task of making sure that our.." he cleared his throat, " 'suspected' traitor becomes a 'confirmed' traitor."  
  
With that, he turned abruptly to leave the room. Before he left, Sandoval called after him, "Who exactly is the traitor whom I will be monitoring?"  
  
Zo'or smiled, unnoticed by Sandoval, "I think you know this person well, Agent Sandoval. It is our very own Captain Lili Marquette." With that, he left the room.  
  
A lump formed in Sandoval's throat... Zo'or was nothing but insane, he thought to himself. He knew Lili was no traitor... but then again, when he thought about the definition for a moment, he could actually consider himself a traitor. If there was one thing Sandoval was not, it was stupid. He knew that Zo'or didn't possibly trust him this much. If he didn't go through with this monitoring, he knew very well that Zo'or would have some sort of monitoring system of his own in place to alert him. Sandoval turned and activated the display panel that was previously activated. He moved through a sequence of commands that he could see were clearly laid out for him... he did wonder why Zo'or would not do this for himself. Surely he would have liked to be the one to reveal any traitors among them..  
  
But then again, he also liked pitting Humans against Humans. He had a dark sense of humour about it...  
  
He sighed to himself silently, and switched the option for Audio Transmit to 'On'  
  
---- A Few Hours later ----  
  
Sandoval studied some simple readouts from the display panel. Zo'or was nuts, he said, there isn't a flaw with Captain Marquette within a hundred miles of her. She was no traitor to the Taelons. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized that somehow he almost wished that she were.  
  
The information was routine. Nothing out of the ordinary. All the audio he picked up was normal, and although he picked up into a few conversations he probably shouldn't have been in, he knew that shutting down the transmission would just get himself, and probably Marquette, in a heap of trouble. Assisting Zo'or's "traitor" in evading was not what he needed now. But the guilt he felt at doing this was almost getting the better of him.  
  
"Good, Ron," he muttered to himself, "You *should* feel guilty." He spoke out loud to no one, but softly, "Its human."  
  
As he reviewed some security records on the side, he did notice something strange, not about Lili or any kind of traitor whatsoever, but that there had been a reinforcement of volunteers sent to a location a few miles West of Lili's location. He wondered who had ordered the build up of troups, since he was usually the one informed of this type of thing, as well as the one ordered to perform the operations of organizing everything... As he studied some vague reports, none of it really made any sense. And then..  
  
'Liam, glad you finally decided to show up.'  
  
Sandoval listened to the audio pickup coming through. What was Kincaid doing there with Lili? He knew she was going to be at some sort of meeting or conference -- why couldn't he remember -- but why had Kincaid showed up at this meeting as well. Had it been something important, he was sure he would have been informed. He listened to the audio more closely. He noticed the tracking screen in the corner of the display. It tracked Lili's form off to the side. She continued to move away from the general area, until she was a decent distance away and on her own.  
  
'Sorry, I couldn't geta way sooner. I know I was supposed to be hear earlier.' The sound of Kincaid's voice came across the audio transmitter.   
  
'Well,' replied Lili, 'you know, this is *your* meeting. You should be on time for at least a few things in your life.' She chuckled slightly.  
  
He heard him sigh audibly, 'Yeah, yeah... so are we talking or are we moving?' --  
  
Sandoval sighed. "His" meeting? Why was Liam holding a meeting. He watched the locator, as the sensor started moving more quickly away from their location. They were moving away by car on the main road, he thought to himself watching the readouts. The vehicle took a turn onto a backroad, and started moving West away from their location. Something in the back of Ron's mind suddenly hurt very much, like someone jabbed a knife into his hand. He didn't consciously know what was happening yet, he couldn't bring it to the surface. The audio play continued.  
  
'You sure we're not being followed?' Liam said.  
  
'Yeah, Augur's got us hooked up with so many devices to track everything within a huge radius from our position.'  
  
Sandoval thought that name sounded familiar... Augur... Augur... where had he heard that before.  
  
He heard Lili continue to talk, 'You know, for the leader of the Resistance, you sure are paranoid. What would the cell leaders think if they knew their head man was sometimes pretty much head-less?'  
  
Sandoval choked. His mind didn't completely process the information at first. A lot of things ran through his mind. How? When? Why? -- he didn't know the answers to any of the basic questions. And he immediately tried to convince himself out of his own hearing... he must be hallucinating. He knew Zo'or would take it out on him when he found nothing, so he's trying to make believe something... to make something up... no, he wouldn't let that happen. Those days were quickly disappearing with the seconds that passed... he wouldn't go back to that life. He couldn't..  
  
But the casual discussion and light laugh that came from Liam Kincaid made him realize, that this was not only very real, that it must have been happening for a very long time.  
  
She lied. She deceived him.  
  
What was he saying? *He* lied. *He* deceived her. So many times in the past. So very many times... but, she pushed all that aside just last night. He didn't know if she forgave him or not, but he knew what kind of a person she must be to have moved past all that he did. Against her. Against humanity. How could he ever blame her for anything?  
  
But this... this seemed unbelievable. Crazy. He can't have heard right.  
  
'I know all the cells have really become detached from each other lately,' Liam's voice on the audio transmitter cut through his thoughts like a knife, 'So I think this meeting is going to be a good way for everyone to touch base with each other.  
  
Sandoval sighed. That was the meeting... members of the -- what did he call them, resistance 'cells'? -- were meeting.   
  
His thoughts were conflicted... he could feel his own mind fighting for control over that piece of technology in his head. And he wasn't quite sure which side was winning... until a new thought crossed his mind. He quickly turned back to the display panel and brought up a larger map of the area. Then he brought up Lili and Liam's vehicle's current course. Then he overlayed some information that had been previously in the back of his mind -- the location of the buildup of volunteers that were originally a few miles West of Lili's original location.  
  
"My God," breathed Sandoval, "Its an ambush."  
  
  
  
  
(more more more more more to come :)  
  
  



	4. All the little soldiers... (Chapter 4)

Disclaimer: Welcome to a world. A world of science fiction, of fantasy, of what *could* be. And I own none of it. blah..  
  
Summary: I'm not even dignifying this with an answer ;)  
  
Author's note: see last author's note :)  
  
  
  
  
*** When Stars Collide -- Chapter 4 ***  
  
  
He grabbed his global from a nearby table and opened it, "Lili!" he called, and it automatically sent the transmission to Lili's global. No response came back. She must have turned it off. Of course she would have. This meeting of theirs was probably not something they wanted interupted by anyone. He got an answering-machine type message instead. He cuirsed in frustration... downloading the tracking information to his global, he quickly got up and ran from the room.  
  
As he navigated the cooridors, he had to come up with some stories, and quickly. He also had to find a way to get to Lili and Liam's location. He stopped and moved into a corner as he reopened his global and navigated some information on the map. There was a building not far from their destination that had once been a factory about a year ago. It had been used to manufacture quite a bit of hybrid technologies, and he knew that it was fully equipped with ID portal technology. The building was closed, but he was positive that the old ID portal tech was still in place.  
  
He made a detour for the nearest ID portal out. He knew he would only have a matter of minutes before Zo'or figured out who had departed the ship. And he had nothing to tell him... he couldn't even figure out a single story to fashion for this one. There was nothing he could do. It was warn them or let them be taken prisoner -- or possibly die. He wasn't sure which one would be worse...  
  
He nodded to the volunteer watching over the ID portal. She seemed to notice nothing out of the ordinary, so Sandoval went ahead and keyed in his coordinates along with a security code. He stepped into the portal, nodded to the volunteer, and then phased out of sight with the portal transport sequence.  
  
--- Earth: Abandoned Facotry (ugh, isn't there *always* an abandoned building involved? *grin*) ---  
  
The transport sequence made an two attempts to resolve itself at the factor before finally completing successfully. The technology had been sitting unmaintained for awhile now... even Taelon technology needed maintenance, especially while it was set up here on Earth with a lot of nwe variables in the environment and related.  
  
The place had been cleared out, but seemed more neat than he would have suspected. As he moved towards the door, prepared to use his skrill to cut through it as opposed to trying to get it unsealed, he noticed that the door was not in fact sealed. They might have been using the facility to transport the cell leaders to this area, he thought. This ID portal had long been on the tracking list on the mothership, and was pretty much a blind transport site if you knew the right codes.  
  
And of course, he thought again, Liam Kincaid would indeed have the codes...  
  
He exited the building, and took out his global. He looked around him. Middle of nowhere... perfect. He followd the tracking signal stright ahead, into the wooded area.  
  
He could have easily gotten lost, even *with* the tracking signal to follow. He knew there must have been an access road, but unsure where to find it, he had no time to look for it. Into the woods seemed like the best plan. But after an hour of walking/running, and tracking the security detail's progress and reports, he wasn't sure if he was going to make it there in time.  
  
He finally came out to the side of an old access road. Years ago, an old quarry was in this area, but it hadn't been in operation in about 30 o more years. He moved along side the road, but still in the woods. He tracked the security detail, and made sure to avoid them at all costs. They were staying far away from the access road, which made sense. He started to hear voices of people from up ahead.  
  
'I dont know,' came the first voice he was able to hear, 'I don't think this is safe, Liam.'  
  
'We've taken all the percautions necessary,' he replied. 'No one knows we're here.'  
  
He sighed as he stopped moving towards the area. He checked his global. The security detail hadn't moved in a long time, and he had no idea when this was going to happen. He knew that if he moved out into the area, that the resistance members would most likely have no regrets at shooting to kill... And why shouldn't they? He mutered to himself.  
  
'What was that?' came a second annonymous voice.  
  
'What was what?' replied Lili, somewhat concerned suddenly.  
  
The newcomer responded, 'I thought I heard something. Maybe it was nothing...'  
  
Sandoval's global made a small noise, and he checked it for the umpteenth time that day. As he stared at the readout, he knew that his time had run out. He darted from his small hiding place and ran towards Lili and Liam.  
  
Liam turned, in time to see Sandoval come running down the side of the access road. "This isn't good!" he nearly yelled, and started to run back towards the main area. He had to get everyone out... damn, he wasn't even sure *how* he could do that.   
  
Lili wanted to die. What had she done? This must have been her fault somehow... Sandoval. Sandoval must have bugged her somehow. Why did he do this... why did *she* do this. Let him use her like that. Let him lie to her again -- let him toy with her emotions. She wanted to cry, but she knew she needed to run. Her feet however wouldn't move. It couldn't have all been a lie... no, how could it have been. It was real. It had to have been real.  
  
"Its an ambush! Get out!" yelled Sandoval as he closed the gap between them.  
  
Liam stopped for a moment cold in his tracks. Sandoval was still too far away for those words to have been very clear, but he shivered as he pondered what he *thought* the words spelled out. But it wasn't until he heard shots fired not far down the access road, but not yet to the main quarry area that he realized what was happening.  
  
Liam snapped open his global and sent a mass message as he took off down the road. But who would be left to hear it? He yelled into the global, "Everyone, get out now! Its a trap!"  
  
Sandoval reached Lili just as Liam disappeared from the area. He was out of breath and disorientated, confused, and a little incoherent when he tried to speak. "Its.." he took another breath. Lili didn't need time to speak as she dragged him in the direction that Liam had taken off in.  
  
Sandoval felt like he could barely make his legs move any longer, but he still seemed to move forward keeping up with Lili. But as they all moved into the main area, the tension that had been created suddenly snapped -- and the area was filled with the sound of weapons fire and the sight of volunteers.  
  
Lili used her weapon to fend off two of the volunteers attacking Liam, as Sandoval broke off and used his skrill to take out two more who were attacking two of the other resistance members. A few of the resistance members gathered together briefly, confused and unsure what to do.  
  
"We have to get you out of here before you all end up dead," Sandoval told them frankly. The look of shock was on their faces looking at the man telling them this, but the realization that his words were obviously very true was more important.   
  
"Sandoval," called Liam. Sandoval turned around, and caught the object that Kincaid threw to him. "I don't know what the hell is going on here," he said quickly, "But are you with us?" -- The object he tossed him looked like a weapon, but was actually for discharging a portable ID portal.  
  
"Yeah," he said, aiming the barrel to the left of him and firing. The portal hit against a tree and deployed. "I'm with you."  
  
Lili fired another shot, fending off the area around the portal, and called over her shoulder to Sandoval, "We're never going to get them all out!"  
  
Sandoval called back while directing people towards the portal and into it, "We will. We'll get them out Lili, don't worry." He fired his skrill at two more volunteers, hurtling them back against the ground. As he looked back towards Lili, he noticed three Volunteers coming up behind her. He yelled, "Lili, watch out!" and tried to take at least one of them out. He made his way closer and was able to stop them as Lili turned her attention back. But Sandoval saw out of the corner of his eye, one other Volunteer targetting her. With no time to think, no time to target with his skrill, and no margin for error, he could only throw himself infront of the blast to keep it from hitting Lili.  
  
"No!" she yelled as she ran to his aide. Liam's heart went into his throat as he saw what transpired, but had to continue with the defence of the resistance members. He didn't understand what was happening, nor did he have the time to contemplate it. But for some reason, his heart went out to Sandoval... Sandoval was his bitter enemy, and yet the closest thing he had to family. He was, for all intents and purposes, his father. He saw the grief-stricken face of Lili Marquette as she attended to Sandoval... and as he thought about it for a moment, he thought he understood a bit more of the conversation from the night before.  
  
Sandoval couldn't move. His head hurt, his chest hurt... everything hurt. And it was dark... but he knew that it was only afternoon. How could it be this dark? His eyes could pick up people, their silouettes against the sky as he looked up from lying on the ground, and his ears could barely hear the noise of weapons fire around him. But he could hear Lili's voice... she was very close. Her voice was shaking... was she crying? He found it hard to tell. He could only make a few phrases... "Don't leave me alone now. Not now. Not after what I know now. About you. About how I feel for you."  
  
He wanted to speak, but he couldn't. His mouth wouldn't even open. And as she felt the gentle shaking of Lili's hand against his face, his eyes could pick up nothing but blackness, and the sound disappeared completely...   
  
(more to come ;) 


	5. Universes are changed when stars collide...

Disclaimer: I own everything... *sigh* Ok, no I don't *cries* I own nothing, NOTHING! *sighs sadly*  
  
Note: Did I take long enough getting this one up? ;) Very sorry...  
  
Summary: What can I say? Parts of this story are spinning off into different aeras of the show, so I'm not going to try and classify it anymore, its just an AU story now, and thats that, lol. Ok, what do we have here... no I would *never* kill of Sandoval, lol. And what's this, a possible father/son moment between Liam and Sandy? (come on, I couldn't resist ;) Hey if, Lili and Sandy hook up, that makes Lili Liam's mother doesn't it? :) I also don't know if I spelled "Siobhan" right. As for the rest, read the other stories ;)  
  
Author's note: see last author's note :)  
  
  
  
  
*** When Stars Collide -- Chapter 5 ***  
  
  
Sandoval made an attempt to open his eyes. They felt like they had led weights attached to them, and once he was able to open them just a bit, the lights nearly blinded his currently over-sensitive eyes. He closed them again and took a deep breath, which he immediately realized as a mistake, as it hurt more than the lights did.  
  
Lili Marquette heard a noice from behind her, and turned to check on Sandoval. "You're awake," she said with a smile, "that's good, it was touch and go there for awhile. You took a pretty bad hit."  
  
Sandoval opened his eyes again. The lights weren't as bad the second time, but his vision was a little blurry and he couldn't tell where he was.  
  
"Where am I?" he managed to croak out the words, but only barely. His throat was extremely dry and sore.  
  
She smiled, "Don't worry about that right now."   
  
The figure moved around, and Sandoval tried to focus in. He didn't have to try hard this time as his vision started to return. "Lili?"  
  
Lili gave a saddened smile. She hated seeing him like this. Sandoval, despite his previous personality and actions, was always a very strong person. To see him like this now... it hurt, because she knew that he had done this to protect her. "Hey there," she smiled and moved next to him. She rubbed his arm with her hand as she sat down in the chair next to where he was lying, "how do you feel?"  
  
Sandoval relaxed a bit and sighed, "I feel like I've been hit by a freight train."  
  
Lili laughed gently, "Oh no, that would have hurt a lot less I think."  
  
Sandoval smiled weakly. She was right... he knew the weapon he was hit with, and he was lucky it didn't kill him. It just went to show how much Zo'or wanted to take out the Resistance... shoot to kill first, ask questions later. What an approach...  
  
Which suddenly made him think, as he made an attempt to sit up, "The resistance leaders?" He nearly cried out as a serious wave of pain swept through his body at his attempt to move to an upright position.   
  
Lili grabbed his arm and lowered him back down, "They're all ok, they all made it out..."   
  
Sandoval looked up at her, his vision coming more into focus, "Are you alright?"  
  
Lili nodded, "Not a scratch on me," she smiled.  
  
"Thanks to you," came the voice from behind Lili, someone who just entered the scene. Sandoval at least knew *that* voice by heart.  
  
"Liam," he said, in a rare first-name-basis moment with the other protector.   
  
Liam Kincaid pulled up a second chair and sat beside Lili. "You took quite a hit. We weren't sure if you were going to pull out of it," he gave an I-can't-believe-it type of smile and sighed, "and I can't thank you for risking your life to try and help us out." He hesitated and then continued, "I never..."  
  
Sandoval interjected, cutting him off in a low voice, "You don't have to try and drum up a thank-you." Liam was a proud person... Sandoval assumed that trying to thank the person he abhored for the longest time now was probably difficult for him. Until he was able to see the look on his face.   
  
"No," Liam said. He leaned over and put a hand on Sandoval's shoulder, "You deserve it."  
  
Sandoval shut his eyes for a moment and sighed, "I don't deserve anything. This whole thing should have been avoided. I was..."  
  
"... the one monitoring Lili," Liam interjected this time. He nodded in a sympathetic way, "We know what happened." He chuckled gently, "But the thing is, a situation where a lot of people would end up being killed *was* avoided. And it was *because* you were monitoring Lili. And what happened out there, it would have happened if you had or had not been at your station..." Sandoval affected a look of confusion, and Liam continued with his explanation, "Zo'or had assumed that you were becoming disloyal to him, either towards your own agenda or not, it didn't matter to him... at any rate, he might have put you in charge of monitoring us... but in reality, you weren't in charge at all."  
  
Sandoval sighed and closed his eyes, "Zo'or was monitoring the same thing I was." He shook his head gently, "And he *let* me get off that ship."  
  
Lili nodded and spoke next, "It isn't your fault that this happened." Lili put her hand ontop of his.  
  
Sandoval turned his hand over and gave hers a squeeze, "Maybe this wasn't totally my fault," he sighed, "But a lot of other things were." Before either Liam or Lili could respond to that, he took a better look around the room where he was. "Where am I, exactly? This doesn't look like the hospital..."  
  
"It isn't," Liam answered, "There was no way we could take you to a regular medical facility."  
  
Sandoval understood, "Zo'or isn't exactly happy, is he."  
  
Liam laughed, "That's an understatement." He sighed, "Trust me that both of our protector days are over..."  
  
"Then, where *is* this place?"  
  
Lili had to take care of something out of Sandoval's line of sight. She smiled down at him and said she would be right back, and left for a few moments. Liam moved into the chair Lili vaccated, and gave a look around the place himself.  
  
"Welcome to the Resistance," he said. "You're underground right now, and protected. We can't be detected here by anything Taelon or Human."  
  
Sandoval slowly shook his head, and tried to sit up. Liam helped him to an upright position, "I can't stay here," he said grogily, "Zo'or is not the type to let someone like me escape without a massive man hunt, you know that as well as I do."   
  
Lili called from across the room, "He's right, we're getting reports in now, there is one huge manhunt on, not only for Resistance leaders and members, but for Sandoval."  
  
Sandoval sighed, "This may be sheltered and unknown *now*, but I don't think Zo'or is going to give up until he finds me, which means I'm putting this place in danger. He's quite.." he paused and made a disgusted face, ".. resourceful."  
  
"No," Liam shook his head, "Because I get the feeling Zo'or is also going to want to get his hands on me as well. And I certainly am not abandoning this place. None of us are." He smiled slightly, "And I hope that you *are* one of us."  
  
Sandoval laughed, "Well, I'm not one of *them* anymore at anyrate, so I guess that makes me on your side."   
  
Liam got up and helped him to stand up. He was a bit unstable, but was able to walk alright. Lili took Liam's place as he crossed to another area of the underground hideout. She smiled slightly at him... she'd forgotten how incredible his eyes were when he looked at her. It took her a moment to return to reality and notice that he was smiling back at her. He closed to short distance between them and further surprised her slipping his arm around her back and gently pulling her towards him.   
  
Lili sighed a content sigh and leaned against Sandoval for a moment, happy to just let everything else slip away for a moment. Just one moment...  
  
Which never lasts for long...  
  
"Oh no..." came an all too familiar voice to Lili. And again.. "Oh no!"  
  
Lili opened her partially-closed eyes to get a full view of the new addition to the party. She wanted to laugh, the look on his face betrayed a combination of pure disgust and confusion. "Augur," she said in a sort-of-sleepy voice. She wasn't finished giving up her moment yet. "Glad you could join the party."  
  
"I don't know if you're blind, Lili," Augur hissed, "But that is Ronald Sandoval you're groping onto there!" He was furious, confused... and hurt. Lili could definately see the hurt in his eyes.   
  
Sandoval suddenly felt really uncomfortable. Up until this point, he wasn't feeling too bad about this whole situation. Well, to a point at least... confusion was sure the term of the day. And who was this Augur anyway... he seemed familiar... his CVI must have been more damaged than he originally thought if he was having trouble remembering things. The CVI was a permanent database of every single nuance of his life.   
  
Lili pulled away from Sandoval for a moment and walked over to Augur. She started, "Augur..."  
  
Augur furrowed his forhead and grumbled in a stern voice, "I already got the message from Liam that he was here." He turned around towards one of his computer terminals, and cast a cold stare out of the corner of his eye to Liam, who didn't notice. "Mind you, Mr. Kincaid over there certainly seems to have left some things out," he muttered under his breath.  
  
Sandoval came up behind Lili and placed a nervous hand on her waist. Lili turned and nodded an "its ok" towards him. He nodded back. She smiled gently again. Sandoval's grim stern face seemed to have been replaced long ago and permanently with... with such a human looking face. Etched with confusion and concern right now, and before, she saw the kindness and caring she recalled clearly from the other night at the park. His eyes were so sad right now as she looked into them, and he kept looking towards the floor. He had no idea what to do, where to go, how to help, or how to stay out of the way if that was the desired embience... an outcast among two places now, Humanity and with the Taelons. These people here seemed to try and accept him... or at least put up a good show. But it was going to take time. Possibly more time than was available. He sighed deeply...  
  
What he couldn't seem to comprehend though was the looks he gained from Major Kincaid. Sandoval winced slightly at the thought... *those* memories seemed to be crystal clear. His plots to take Liam Kincaid down permanently surfaced into his mind, and he shuddered. He had hated this man. Plotted against him. And he knew Liam wasn't a stupid person... Liam knew. And yet, the look in his eyes, one of pure compassion. Something he never expected. Something that shocked him. After he had put the young protector through so much...  
  
Liam turned from his terminal and returned to the small party of people. 'God his eyes,' he thought to himself, 'They look so much like...' he paused in his thoughts, 'Siobhan?' But his thoughts were interupted then by a sudden wave of pain, dull at first, sharper as moments passed.  
  
Suddenly images started flashing into his mind. Sandoval squeezed his eyes shut, which went unnoticed to the others who were chatting amonst themselves deciding on plans of action. A sharp pain raced through Sandoval's head as the images started to come into focus. A multitude of images started coming before him, of Siobhan... then of Liam... he shook his head slightly to try and clear his mind. His CVI really must be severely damaged. But the images kept coming.  
  
"Sandoval?" Lili questioned with concern. He looked like he was having some sort of severe migraine. He didn't respond, however, he could only gasp to try and regain his breath, he was having a difficult time concentrating, breathing, standing... his legs began to buckle.  
  
Liam moved quickly up beside him and grabbed his arm... but the touch created havoc with the images in Sandoval's mind. What seemed like a jolt of energy passed between them. Sandoval's eyes were tightly shut, and he didn't notice the young protector's hands begin to emmit light upon contact with him.  
  
Liam gasped himself, he was being dragged into this connection and he couldn't stop it. He couldn't control his shaqaravah quickly enough before the connection was established and he was sucked into it, like matter into a black hole. He couldn't stop. His mind started spinning out of control. And memories started to emerge... 'No!' he mentally screamed, 'this wasn't the way it should happen. Why was it happening like this now. Sandoval... he couldn't know this yet.' He wasn't ready. This wasn't right.  
  
But he couldn't stop it.  
  
Lili grabbed Ron by the other arm and Augur steadied Liam, but before they could do anything to try and help, Liam's shaqaravah deactivated as mysteriously as they activated, and he was able to break away. Sandoval gasped, finally able to take in a full breath of air, but quickly collapsed as Lili helped lower him to the floor. She rubbed her hand on his back. Panic crossed her face as she still was unsure what had just transpired.  
  
But Liam, who recovered much more quickly, started backing away. He rubbed his face with his hands, and shook his head... "It wasn't meant to be this way..." he mumbled in a shakey voice, as he turned and headed for the door."  
  
"You can't go out there, Liam!" Augur yelled and followed him.  
  
Lili was torn on what to do. But as Sandoval regained a sense of balance and a grip back on reality, she knew that this wasn't her place to interfere.  
  
Sandoval tried desperately to sort out the images. His mind was reeling with the new information as his CVI stored it all, and he could access it. But the images didn't make any sense. And the memories... weren't his own. They were Liam's. They were Siobhan's. They were mixed up parts of a puzzle, but as the mist started to clear in his mind, many of them started to fit together...   
  
  
Liam was already disengaging the security lockdown on the door when a hand on his shoulder tried to gently pull him back. Liam was near tears. He never thought it would be like this. It shouldn't have happened this way. This wasn't the time. Not now. Why did it happen. His mind raced through a million things, he couldn't concentrate, he fumbled with the computer controls. The hand tugged on his shoulder again.  
  
"Augur," Liam said in a shakey voice, "Augur it shouldn't have happened like this."  
  
"Maybe not," returned the voice behind him, "but it did."  
  
Liam held his breath for a moment as he turned to see Sandoval, not Augur, pulling him back from the computer. Liam turned his head away. He could only repeat over and over: "It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't. It wasn't supposed to be like this..."  
  
Sandoval felt like his head was on fire. HARdly anything was making sense, and yet it all fit together. He placed both hands on the young protector's shoulders and gently pulled again. This time, Liam stepped back from the computer.   
  
"Liam," he said softly. The younger man turned his head finally towards him, his face wet with tears, and a look of despair on his face. Sandoval could oddly enough only smile. He was so innocent... like a child. 'He *is* a child,' Sandoval reminded himself as he searched through his new memories. 'Not just any child... He's *your* child.' He started again. "Liam, you have memories of Siobhan," he gently shook his shoulders as Liam tried to look away at the mention of her name, "You have memories of her. You knew what she was like." He smiled sadly, "What she believed."  
  
The young protector nodded blankly.  
  
Sandoval turned Liam all the way around to face him, "I know you do. Now tell me," he looked into his eyes. Those piercing eyes, so much like Siobhan... so much like her in many ways, "If you had told her 'It wasn't supposed to be like this', what would she have said to you?"  
  
Liam thought about the question for a moment. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. After a moment of waiting, he tried once more to breathe out the answer... "She would have said," he paused for a moment, and then continued, "That everything happens for a reason. And things are as they should be." He looked briefly around the room... to a frozen Augur and Lili who dared not move from their places in fear of disturbing the delicate balance in the room. And then, he looked up to this man standing infront of him... who was he?   
  
'Your father,' came a voice in the back of his mind... not his own. A soft voice, that brought a flood of emotions back to him. And then he collapsed... too weak to do anything more than just fall out of his own mind, fall to the floor.  
  
Sandoval caught him and helped him into a chair. He pushed his own confusion out of his mind. Liam was the one who needed the focus here. He looked over at Lili, his eyes pleading for answers. He didn't know what to do. But Lili was terrified, she had never seen Liam like this before. She had no idea what to do, and her look betrayed that. He looked back at this man sitting in the chair, his head down. who was he?  
  
'Your son,' came a voice in the back of his mind... not his own. A gentle voice, that he recalled so many other times.   
  
"My son..." he murmured outloud. For the first time. And he leaned his forhead against Liam's downcast head and sighed.  
  
  
  
  
  
(possibly to be continued? I suppose I could end it here... we'll see)  
  



End file.
